Settlin' In

It was a little bit surreal to finally face reality. Letting go of my perpetually hectic life in Manila to do nothing by take it easy in Adelaide was one of the biggest changes. All of a sudden my days were free to do with as I pleased. Though I welcomed it, I have to admit, I panicked just a wee bit: what if I got bored? What if I went crazy from being alone all day while Benc was at school? But this only reinforced in me the desire to look for something worthwhile to do while I was here. The first of which was finding a job. But, I reminded myself, that won't be for another three weeks. I promised myself while on a "break," I would explore the city for a month, learn as much as I could from the people, and develop my own street smarts.

Too bad those plans had to be put on hold. It's been raining for the past three days -- the icy cold kind and I don't want to be caught in it anymore. Instead I've decided to stay in today and tidy up, make a list of things we need and then go shopping! Yeheyyyy! It feels a lot like keeping house in Ortigas, only here, I have to be more thrifty. I am still computing in pesos. When one does that, analysis paralysis sets in. Hahaha, so I just go with the flow. Settling into our litle hobbit hole here, I quickly noticed little things we needed: more hangers, towel racks, basahan, foot rugs, laundry hampers. Naturally these are things Benc wouldn't prioritize, but to me they're important. So I'm going to have to purchase them to make our place liveable. We live in a hostel right in the middle of the city, a block from Adelaide's Central Market and a short walk from Benc's uni. It's decent enough. It's inhabited by mostly uni students. Thankfully our bathroom is private. We do have a common sitting room and kitchen though -- this last one is something I have to get used to.

Because other people use it, I can't expect them to be as tidy and conscientious as I am (hehehe). Still it allows me to cook decent meals. I've made two meals so far, and was applauded for feeding the hungry Pinoy herd here. They were only too happy to have someone make a home-cooked meal for them. Here's a photo of the common room this morning. It's just me and Benc here now. We had breakfast while he reviewed some notes for school. This is where we have our meals. Next door is the kitchen. Photo above shows the pasta I cooked the other night: penne rigate with fresh prosciutto, brocolli and button mushrooms, all purchased from Coles, a wonderful supermarket right behind the Central Market.

Our hostel is kept clean by Rachelle, a Chinese student who is both studying and working in Adelaide. Here she is taking a photo of herself after she secured our digital camera. I had left it on the dining table. Good thing she held on to it, and it didn't get lost. :) She's such a character: so young (23) yet already so independent (she came here alone from China) and hardworking (she's the housekeeper at AIH). She's also, as Anne, one of the Pinoy students refers to her, the official mascot. Frank and honest she can easily throw you off, but it's also one of her most endearing traits.

It's nearly 9am now. I think I'll take a shower and do some tidying up. Benc and I are moving to a bigger room tomorrow, one with a larger bathroom and a balcony, so that some fresh air can circulate. I'm looking forward to that. My first week settling in has been rather all right, don't you think? I hope this continues, and I find my own niche in this genteel little city.